Currently, some airlines provide seatback devices or units that allow passengers to utilize and/or access various services. For example, such devices may include display screens that can be used to watch movies or television programming, browse the Internet, order food and/or drinks, or place “duty free” orders. Moreover, some systems incorporating such devices utilize wireless connectivity. For example, a seatback device may include an IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) interface to enable wireless communication with an onboard server via one or more wireless access points.
Generally, it is advantageous to know the location of the seat with which a given seatback device is associated (e.g., the seat number or other seat identifier). If a passenger uses a particular seatback device to enter a food or drink order, for example, knowledge of the associated seat location may help the cabin attendant deliver the order to the appropriate person. As another example, if a particular seatback device fails, knowledge of the associated seat location may help maintenance personnel to quickly and easily identify the device in need of repair or replacement.
While seatback devices can be manually programmed to indicate their seat location (e.g., to an on-board server), such an approach is subject to human error. Moreover, a manual approach can be time consuming and inefficient (and therefore costly), as it generally must be repeated each time that a seatback device is replaced or switched to another seat.